Warning: "Long author's note ahead. Skim through it if you want to, but if you are a reader of his Golden Sun and/or Megaman fanfics you might want to read the third paragraph."
Lord Cynic: "I guess a little history is in order... as well as an explanation for anyone tabbing my other fanfics.
I was first told of this game last year... somewhere around the middle, I think. I was in my Golden Sun phase (which isn't over yet so don't panic) when someone told me about this game. I thought fair enough, it looks Golden Sun-ish so I'd better keep an eye on it. Later (much later I think), I managed to find a video clip of part of the game, and I clicked onto it. Holy - Hades - On - A - Hat. It took me breath away. After then, I decided that no matter how long it took I'd get the game as soon as possible. Well, 6-7 months later, I finally got the game. Have not been disappointed in the slightest, at all. Oh, and I almost forgot. The person who told me had his opinions on some of the couplings in the game. I forget exactly what they were... but I guess this is where the explanation to my other readers comes in.
Yes, I know I haven't updated anything else in a long while. Yes, I'm probably being hunted down as we speak, with Furbies and all sorts of annoying furry electronic toys. But I have a reason... well, it's pretty much in my profile. However, no one reads those things so I'll explain. I live my fanfiction life through phases. When a certain anime/TV show/video game takes my fancy, I like to find fanfiction on it to read. This is no exception, as is Megaman and Golden Sun. I am in the phase that I read and write fanfics on those, although due to my lack of depth all I write is romance. Ironically I couldn't get anything done for V's day... hmm... but I digress. I don't think my Golden Sun and/or Megaman readers will be reading this through, but this is here to explain my situation.
As for this story, this is my first of the Tales of Symphonia realm. It has been updated, lengthened and hopefully improved. Hopefully it didn't take as long as people would hope not..
Oh, as for the timeline of the story... well, I'll just say they passed Palmacosta. That means only Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Raine and Kratos will be featured. There may/will definitely be some inaccuracy in the story (especially about the Angel Toxicosis), as I have not finished the game yet so I don't have the freedom of knowing everything that happened. I was relieved when Colette went back to normal on Tethe'alla though... eh."
Lord Cynic: "Tales of Symphonia belongs to Namco."
A Night to Remember
The merry band of Lloyd Irving the swordsman, Colette Brunel the Chosen, the young mage Genis Sage, his sister and the formers' teacher Professor Raine, and the mercenary Kratos Aurion continued their journey of regeneration. They had rested in Palmacosta the night before, and besides Colette's Angel Toxicosis, there was barely a worry in the world for the group of adventurers travelling across Sylvarant.
"Man, I'm starving!"
"What are you talking about, we ate about fifteen minutes ago!"
Oh, that's great, just great. This story isn't even 100 words old and already you lot are making me a liar. Sigh...
"Don't forget, Raine," Genis remarked snidely (the group were ignoring the narrator's ramblings), "Lloyd has a black hole for a stomach like he has one for a brain."
"Shut it!" Lloyd snarled, whacking the younger half-elf on the back of the head. Genis yelped and rubbed his head in pain, and Lloyd huffed irritably. However, a large rumble from his stomach like an echo made him redden and scratch the back of his head. The others' stares of disapproval (except for Colette's amused smile) caused the boy to defend himself.
"I don't have a bottomless stomach," he protested. "I defy anyone to not say Professor Sage's breakfast surprise was less than filling."
No one could debate that undeniable fact - Raine had literally invented cheese-stuffed fish on toast. With that awful memory in tow, everyone agreed to let Genis cook a proper breakfast there on the spot. Within minutes, everyone was tucking in to a normal meal of bacon and eggs.
"Mmm, delicious!" Lloyd said, slurping bacon into his mouth (which grossed out some people). "You may be a nerd at school but you're an awesome cook."
"Gee, thanks," Genis said sarcastically through half-shut eyes. (Y'know, like one of the faces he makes in the skits. The sort of face you can make with Alt and 0172 twice.) "Maybe one of these days you'll become a swordsman with some common sense."
Lloyd was too busy eating to hear the comment, but Kratos heard it loud and clear. He smirked privately, earning raised eyebrows from Raine.
"What's so amusing?" she demanded. "It better not be about what Lloyd said about my cooking skills."
Lloyd ironically heard that and cried, "It's the truth" in his defence. However, the adults ignored this as Kratos answered.
"Despite the rare occasion that Lloyd is actually right this time," he said coolly, "that is not the reason. It was a reaction to what Genis said about him a second ago."
"Oh, right," Raine responded, nodding and smiling. However, Kratos's attentions were quickly directed elsewhere.
"Well, that's something you don't see everyday."
Confused, Raine followed Kratos's gaze, and when she hit her target, another smile crossed her face. She briefly shifted her gaze to Genis, who caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. Nonetheless, all three of them wore expressions of amusement (some more than others) at the scene they were witnessing.
Colette had been suspiciously quiet throughout the morning. When everyone had settled down to eat, originally she and Lloyd were a fair distance apart. It seemed that gradually she had been discreetly shifting closer and closer to the one-year old boy. Now that everyone had finished talking, the blonde Chosen was barely centimetres apart from Lloyd. Their eating movements were now in perfect synchronisation as they devoured their bacon and eggs. From scooping up their food with their forks, to their silent chewing, their actions were almost in complete unison. Scrape, chew, swallow. Scrape, chew, swallow. Scrape, chew, swallow.
"Actually, that is something you'd expect to see everyday," Genis remarked truthfully, keeping his voice low so only his fellow onlookers could hear him.
"Point taken," Kratos muttered, but a sudden noise attracted their attention back to their source of light entertainment.
"Brrp! Oops, excuse me!" Colette giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. She checked to see who had heard her, and met the eyes of the young mage, the Professor and the mercenary. The blonde girl coloured immediately at being caught in the act and embarrassingly stuttered the first thing she could think of. "Hehe... I'm sorry."
"I thought we agreed you weren't going to apologise for anything anymore," Lloyd said, half-scolding and half-caring. However, with a mouth full of food it sounded more like, "I dort bwe abreed you bweren't going to abolo-gise por aggythig anybore."
"Oh, of course," Colette said, smiling. She suddenly edged closer to Lloyd and everyone else sweatdropped as Lloyd lifted his head.
"Hmm? What is it?" the young swordsman asked curiously. He paused when Colette drew closer, inch-by-inch, until barely a breath separated them. Their viewing companions became nervous as the blonde girl lifted a hand to the boy's face.
"There's bacon hanging from your lip," she said simply, plucking the offending piece of meat from his mouth. He smiled appreciatively, and the others (minus Kratos who had returned to his food) sighed exasperatedly. However, when Colette popped the bacon into her mouth and smiled brightly, the half-elves sweatdropped again.
"Mmm, yummy! I love the extra flavour, it's like gravy."
"You dork," Lloyd chuckled fondly. He stood up, having finished his breakfast (although, in another point of view, Colette probably finished it for him). "I'm stuffed! Okay, I'm ready to go! Who's with me?"
"Me!" Colette cried cheerfully, jumping up to her feet beside him energetically. "Genis, Professor Sage, Mr. Kratos?"
"Hnnh," Kratos grunted, rising to a standing position. The half-elves took a moment for Colette's words to register in their minds, but soon they nodded and stood up.
"All right, let's go!" Lloyd declared enthusiastically. Most of the group started trekking, but Lloyd stayed behind and spoke to Colette. "C'mon, I'll give you a ride on my back."
The rest of the group had progressed without the two teenagers, and they didn't hear what Lloyd was saying. However, they were barely five steps ahead when Colette giggled, and barely ten steps ahead with the chocolate-haired boy and his part-angel passenger charged past them wildly.
"Yee-ha! Don't worry, Colette," he assured her. "I won't let you go, just hang on. I'll protect you against those nasty monsters!"
Kratos, Genis and Raine froze in their tracks, staring after Lloyd and the laughing Colette. However, they soon came to their senses and raced after the leaders.
"Hey, wait up!"
The day progressed much quicker than the group had anticipated. Of course, it didn't help that Lloyd kept everyone sidetracked, by getting them lost in the mass of trees on the far right of the continent. As a result, it was night time when the group found themselves trudging along the shores, near the sea and sand. Needless to say, three fifths of the group (or 60 percent... go me) were extremely irritated at the lack of progress.
"We should be well and truly at Hakonesia's Peak by now," Genis grumbled, staring at the starry sky disapprovingly. "This is getting us nowhere."
"I concur," Kratos commented, his eyes closed as he nodded. "If we are to assist the Chosen in completing her journey of regeneration, we most proceed as swiftly as possible."
"I don't think that'll happen anytime soon," Raine remarked, watching the group's leaders. "Those two look quite content to take as long as possible, don't you?"
Genis and Kratos followed Raine's gaze and sighed heavily. Lloyd and Colette had taken to messing with each other's hair; Lloyd was trying to cover the blonde Chosen's face with her long blonde hair, while Colette (when she could see) was twirling the spikes of young swordsman's chocolate (in colour) hair flippantly. Both were laughing, and for the moment completely oblivious to their mission.
"Okay you two, that's enough," Raine called at last. Lloyd gave the Professor a reproachful look, Colette giving her a pouty one. However, Raine's stern face called the end to their antics.
"Geez, you two," Genis said exasperatedly, "with all the messing around you do, you're closer to kissing than saving the world."
Kratos sweatdropped and shook his head while Lloyd and Colette's faces suffered considerable darkening in their colour. However, they were saved further embarrassment and increased hues in their cheeks when Raine offered a rhetorical suggestion.
"How about we just camp on the beach for the night? It's getting darker."
Everyone agreed and together they set up camp on the sand. when everything was prepared, Genis laid his head onto his sister's lap and drifted to sleep peacefully. Raine watched him lovingly, until she too fell asleep to the crackling on the fire. Kratos watched the flame lick harmlessly, unconcerned about anything else.
That was convenient for Lloyd and Colette, who had left the camp to be together on a small grassy platform overlooking the sea. They were relatively calm, not nearly as hyper as before. However, that didn't mean they weren't still enjoying each other's company.
"It's a nice view," Lloyd said, gazing at the vast ocean. He stole a glance at Colette, and a content smile on the blonde girl's face told him she agreed.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, the smile going from content to blissful. Lloyd also smiled as he looked at her.
"Just like you," Lloyd thought, except that he'd accidentally said it out loud. Colette looked at him strangely.
"Did you say something?" she asked innocently, staring at the flustered expression on the boy's face.
"Oh, um, n-no, I didn't say anything," he stuttered nervously, smiling awkwardly and waving his arms in an exaggerated fashion.
Colette watched him amusedly as he tried to compose himself. Finally, she leaned in closer, but he was too busy making excuses to notice. She gently placed a finger on his lips to silence him, and he stared at her, confused and wondering. Her only non-verbal response was her trademark smile.
"The ocean's beautiful," she repeated, turning back to the endless body of water. Lloyd blinked dumbly, then nodded and joined Colette in marvelling at the view.
"Mmm, definitely," he murmured. Colette assumed he meant the ocean, but in Lloyd's mind there was something - more specifically, someone - he was thinking of.
When Colette face became depressed, it was the first thing Lloyd noticed.
"What's wrong?" he asked, making her jump in shock. She stared at him, her eyes wide in bewilderment, her cheeks stained red for being noticed.
"Oh, it's-it's nothing," she stammered, smiling falsely. Lloyd frowned.
"Please don't do this," he pleaded. "You can tell me everything. You know that, don't you? We're friends, right? Best buds?"
'Yes, friends,' Colette thought sadly. She realised that Lloyd was still waiting for an answer, and blushed slightly. "Oh, for sure. We're best friends, forever."
"Right, friends forever," Lloyd agreed. "Don't you forget it either," he added, grinning. Colette couldn't help but smile back. She felt safe, secure, comfortable around him. Of course, she always did. It was just something about him that made her feel that special way. If only she could return it...
Lloyd turned back to the ocean, but Colette didn't follow him. Instead, she closed her eyes and hummed a private tune. Lloyd's ears perked to the music, and he started swaying freely. Without realising it, he wrapped an arm around Colette's shoulder and kissed the top of her head softly. She smiled serenely, and gently took one of his hands in his own. She turned it palm up and starting writing on it with her finger.
Lloyd stared at his palm and tried to decipher the invisible characters.
"C... B," he whispered, "heart... L... I... huh?"
Colette looked up at him, then began 'writing' again.
"I... heart... u..." Lloyd became confused. "What does that mean?"
Colette looked up at him again, her eyes furrowed in disappointment.
"You don't know?" she asked. He shook her head, and her eyes tilted down. "Oh..."
Lloyd watched her, surprise covering his features, but also worry. What was wrong? Was it something he said? What did she mean by - ohhhhhhhhh...
"I'm-I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to..."
She was halted in mid-apology when Lloyd lifted her chin up with two fingers to meet at eye-level with her. She gazed into his eyes, which were as brown as his hair. He returned it with a longing gaze into her crystal blue orbs.
"Lloyd," she began, but Lloyd held her hand out and began to write on it like she did on his. She recited it slowly, slightly trembling. "First of all... don't apologise... you dork..." He paused and smiled, when and she smiled back he continued writing. "Second of all... L... I... heart... C... B... 2..." She stared at him, but once again, he simply continued writing. "I... heart... u... 2... you dork... oh, Lloy -"
However, she was rendered speechless and breathless when Lloyd drew her in for a soft, heartfelt kiss. She experienced bliss beyond imagination and limitation as their lips locked. On his side, he hoped the moment would never have to end. Unfortunately, human biology (or maybe another type of science) reared its inconvenient head, and they were forced to separate to catch oxygen.
Their eyes met again after that sweet and defining kiss, and almost immediately their cheeks glowed positively ruby red. However, never had so much happiness shined on such faces, and they made to kiss again.
"Haha, busted!" a triumphant and young voice declared.
Lloyd and Colette separated immediately to find Genis, Raine and Kratos staring at him with raised eyebrows. Shades of crimson returned to the lovers' faces (and then some).
"What took you two so long?" the preteen mage asked with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Well, this may or may not be as unexpected as one would think," Kratos remarked philosophically, his eyes closed and his arms crossed across his chest.
"Nonetheless, you two have some explaining to do," Raine said, disapproving more of her students' defying sleep than their newfound (or simply exposed) love.
Lloyd and Colette glanced at each other and laughed nervously. However, they were thinking the same thing: Even if you get caught in love by your 12-year old friend, his older sister (and your teacher), and your hired mercenary companion, it would still be a night to remember.
Lord Cynic: "Okay, there's the complete version. Now I can go back to Megaman and Golden Sun before I get my head chopped off. (Arms himself with Dragon Tooth blades) However, I am protected... and dangerous."